Creating content on YouTube or any other platform is like any other skill. It takes time, practice, and effort to really get good at it. When I started making videos, I had no idea about frame rates, proper lighting, or how to get great audio quality. In today’s video, I’m going to show you three things that you can do to INSTANTLY improve your video quality, drive more engagement, and make yourself look more professional.

1. LEARN TO USE LIGHTING

   Lighting is one of the most important aspects of creating professional quality video content. Using natural light is usually the best option because it can provide a beautiful, natural looking, and generally even lighting source for your subject. However, natural light is uncontrollable. Clouds going overhead, changing weather, and constantly changing lighting conditions can make the editing process a real challenge. This is where artificial lights really shine (see what I did there?). Personally, I use a Godox SL60W as my primary light source when I’m filming in the studio, and on-location when natural light isn’t an option. Having a constant light source where you can control the color temperature and intensity of the light has made a world of difference in how my videos look and feel. Take some time, play with your light sources and you can get better looking results as you learn!

2. AUDIO QUALITY IS KING (or QUEEN).

   Having a great video doesn’t matter if your audio quality is poor. That’s why it’s incredibly important to try and get the audio right when trying to improve your video content. Now, the onboard microphones on most cameras will do in a pinch, but they’re typically “omnidirectional”. This means that they’re built to pick up sound from all directions. So, if you’re in a noisy environment, you can easily lose your voice (in the case of a vlog) in the din of background noise. This is where an external microphone can come in handy. Two of my personal favorites are the RøDE Video Mic Go and Video Micro. Both are compact and lightweight, and both provide much better audio than the on-board microphones of my Sony A7iii. However, when I want to get really high-quality audio (for studio work or for interview style videos), I use an external audio recorder. External recorders are purpose built to capture high-fidelity audio and have lots of ability to adjust and tweak your audio levels to match your vision. I use the Tascam DR-07 MKII and find that it’s the best mix of quality and price. While an external recorder will give you the best audio fidelity, it does also make editing more difficult as you’ll have to sync up your audio track and video sequences in post-production.

3. USE THE RIGHT CAMERA SETTINGS

   Now we could talk for a whole video about what the “best” camera settings are, but I’ll give you a few quick tips here.

   Terms you should know:

   Resolution: The amount of pixels used to create an image (higher pixel count generally means higher fidelity/more detailed images).

   Frame Rate: The number of frames created for each second of footage. Most cameras shoot between 24 and 120 (and sometimes more) frames per second.

   Shutter Speed: The amount of time the camera sensor is exposed to light.

   Here are my typical camera settings:

   Resolution: 4k

   Frame Rate: 24 frames per second

   Shutter Speed: 1/50th of a second

   In the majority of my videos, I shoot in 4k resolution, with a frame rate of 24 frames per second. The 24 fps frame rate refers to the number of video frames that the camera records each second. 24 fps is roughly the same frame rate that the human eye perceives, and generally provides the most natural looking motion blur. This means that you’ll get motion blur that most closely replicates what you see in real life. I also shoot with a shutter speed of 1/50th. Now as a general rule, we want to use a shutter speed that’s 2x our frame rate. So for a frame rate of 24 fps, we’d ideally want to use a shutter speed of 1/48th (1/50th is as close as you can get on most commercial cameras). Try these settings out and see what kind of results you get! We’ll dive more into these topics in future videos!

Have more information or tips you’d like to add? Leave a comment below!